The carpets shown on this site are knotted handmade rugs woven mostly by women. The first step in carpet weaving is to decide on a design or a motif. In regional carpet production, experienced weavers create the design as they weave, whereas in the production of tight-knotted carpets a pattern to refer to is necessary.
The colours also are characteristic of the region where the carpet is made. The threads used in the weaving of antique carpets used to be dyed with natural dyes, the formulas of which were known only by the family that manufactured the carpet. Natural dyes are produced from leaves, roots, flowers and fruits skins. The various formulas for dye production have been passed down from generation. Thus the colours traditional to Turkic carpet production have survived till today. Red is dominant in Turkic carpets. This striking colour expresses wealth, joy and happiness. Green symbolizes heaven; blue nobility and grandeur; yellow is believed to keep evil away, and black symbolizes purification from worries.
Handmade carpets are generally called after the region where they are produced or tribe in which they are made, contemporary carpets are made in various sizes and with combinations of different materials. In some regions, the threads used in weaving and the knots may be only wool, and in other regions, the base may be cotton and the knots wool. In still other regions pure silk is used in the weaving of carpets.